Have you ever wanted to read a book that systemically crushes – with scientific evidence – the biggest myths of the fitness & nutrition industry? That teaches you a sane easily doable way of constantly slashing the pounds without feeling “trapped” to stupid industry myths such as; “You have to eat six small meals a day to stoke the metabolic fire”?

Well, Brad Pilon’s Eat Stop Eat claims to do so. The book is in short, a big research review of the literature behind things like how many meals a day do you have to eat to lose weight? How does fasting affect your muscle mass and metabolic rate? What are the hormonal changes that happen during fasting, overfeeding, starvation? What about supplements?

Those questions and many many more will be broken down with the author who holds a masters degree in nutrition, and actually worked in the supplements industry for quite some years before starting his entrepreneurial journey as an author…

…But the big question is, does Eat Stop Eat Work?

How Good is Eat Stop Eat?

On a personal level, I really like Eat Stop Eat, and I feel like it in a way actually shaped my dietary habits for the rest of my life. Allow me to explain.

In 2013, I spent a year in military. Every morning at ~5:30AM we were woken up, and 10 minutes later we were marching to the cafeteria for breakfast. This whole ordeal – the march, the organizing in the yard before heading in, the actual eating, organizing when we exited the building, and marching back to the unit – took roughly 1 hour each and every morning…

…After six months, when I got promoted to a squad leader (sub-sergeant in Finland) and new recruits entered the facilities, I was in a situation where it was no longer mandatory to go to the cafeteria under supervision of higher ranks. At this point I got a majestic idea. What if I didn’t eat breakfast? This way I would get 1 extra hour of sleep every morning!

Then it hit me. What happens to my muscle mass? Will my metabolic rate slow down? Breakfast has always been said to be the most important meal of the day, would it harm me to skip it?

Luckily, that’s when I did some research on the subject and eventually found Brad Pilon’s blog and through there I purchased the Eat Stop Eat PDF. The book itself which is jam-packed with easy-to-read science and study breakdowns allowed me to understand the real truth behind short-term fasting, skipping breakfast, and what would all this “intermittent fasting” be doing to my muscle mass and metabolic rate.

I don’t know how to really explain it, but in a nutshell, reading Eat Stop Eat gave me some sort of “relief” from the bullshit claims of the fitness & nutrition industry, and I now had the actual research to back-up and justify my habit of skipping breakfast and eating when I felt like it, not when some “fitness expert” told I had to.

As part of the background research for this book, I made it my goal to uncover the true scientific facts behind weight loss and nutrition. I’m not talking about the scientific ‘facts’ that are thrown around every day by food companies and marketing gurus. You know, the ‘eat this, not that’ facts or the ‘recent research has shown’ ‘facts’. I wanted to find the cold, hard truths. I was looking for the nutritional equivalent of death and taxes.Brad Pilon

The Pros:The book is HEAVILY based on solid human research (339 citations) with quality studies and no cherry-pickingAs a former fitness & supplement industry “behind the curtains” man, Pilon really knows how to crush the myths and marketing tacticsEven though the book is based on science, it’s still really easy to read and comprehend even if you’re not a nutritionist or a medical doctorThe book has its own chapter for the diets effect on testosterone levels – for men – this is hugely important knowledge to attainIf you ever wanted to know anything about intermittent fasting, it’s likely that you will find it in the Eat Stop Eat PDFThe info doesn’t just stop at the nutrition stuff, there are really good chapters about hormones, lifestyle, and exercise too

The Cons:Bit too much emphasis on 24-hour weekly fasts, not much about other beneficial intermittent fasting types (16:8 or 20:4 for example)The sales copy of the book is bit cheesy, at least when compared to what it was few years ago (doesn’t change the quality of the PDF)After you purchase the main book, you will be pitched few add-on items, it can be intrusive, although you don’t have to buy themHaving a big impact on body composition (not much on weight loss), I would of have liked to see more info about macronutrient splits

Q: How does Eat Stop Eat compare to other similar programs?

A: In terms of the science, size, and price point, there’s really nothing that comes close to the value of the Eat Stop Eat program. It actually might just be the most comprehensive manual of “how to really lose weight”, and also a huge resource about all things related to intermittent fasting and even long-term fasting.

One e-book with a similar theme (intermittent fasting) that comes close is the Aggressive Fat Loss 2.0 by Greg O’Gallagher, but although AFL 2.0 is a fantastic program to follow that will also give guaranteed results, it doesn’t offer nearly as much content and scientific citations as Eat Stop Eat does. However, if you’re looking for a more faster read with clear-cut info on what to do and how to do it, then I would opt for AFL 2.0.

Then there’s also the “Warrior Diet” and the popular “5:2 Diet” which both have somewhat similar theme and ideas, but neither comes even close to Pilon’s work.

Q: Are there people that you don’t recommend the program for?

A: According to some doctors and also some personal stories of my readers, people with adrenal fatigue (ie. too low or abnormally cycled cortisol secretion from the adrenal glands) do not do well on diets that involve fasting (causes increased lethargy, and seems to worsen the symptoms). Other than that, people of all ages with no known adrenal issues seem to do really well on diets that involve short-term fasting. As you’ll learn from the research in the book, even diabetics do really well on this type of nutritional approach.

Q: Are there any bonuses in the program?

A: As I mentioned above, there are some options to buy add-ons after your purchase of the main book (which also includes a quickstart guide), some of these were: an audiobook version, email research review newsletter, etc. So they’re not necessarily bonuses since they increase the cost, but they do compliment the main program.

Conclusion

Eat Stop Eat by Brad Pilon – .

I was first thinking of giving Eat Stop Eat a 4 ½ star rating. However if you look at the cons, basically the only downfalls of the program are related to the sales page and upsell pushing, which doesn’t really take anything away from the quality of the main book.

Does it work? Worked for me, not that I always follow the Eat Stop Eat style fasting-feeding pattern, but I’ve taken a lot of the research and info from the book into my own nutrition, and for anyone who still believes the age old fit industry B.S, this book is a true eye opener.

Nice review and I agree with almost everything you say. If you have ever heard Brad talk about IF then you know the 24 hours is not a hard and fast rule. If you can only mange 12 or 16 hours so be it. It is a lifestyle change til end of days. Cheers!

Wasim Wazir

why dont you guys just all go on trt instead of beating around the bush with trying so hard to increase your levels naturally?

Green Deane

I do three intermittent fasts a week, two 18-hour fasts and one 24. There are benefits to the 24-hour fast that go beyond weight issues particularly in regards to cell death, general aging, and reducing the onset of various chronic diseases. I lift weights Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings. Monday evening I stop eating at 6 pm after a good amount of protein that day. Tuesday morning without breakfast I get on my bike and ride about 34 miles. That’s an 18-hour fast plus exercise. I have a light lunch around noon, regular supper. I do the same routine Wednesday night to Thursday at noon. Another 18-hour fast and exercise. Friday I lift and eat like Wednesday and Monday. Saturday I have breakfast and usually ride another 34 miles. I stop eating between 2 to at 5 p.m. and fast until Sunday at the same time to make 24-hours or more. Sunday I walk four hours but I never fast more than 30 hours to avoid any protein cannibalizing. I’m exercising seven days a week and intentionally fasting at least 60 hours (I also do not eat between supper and breakfast, no night snacking.) I started all this before the book but what the book’s process does is train your body to tap into its fat stores… with as little suffering as possible. And, I’m 65, 16% body fat at the moment, BMI of 24 because of the weightlifting, I don’t have to take any prescription medication and my labs are excellent. I was ultra low-carb for a long time, averaging 27 grams of carbs a day. Then I doubled it so now I am between 50 and 60 net carbs a day. Because of the low-carb stint the ketogenic side of my metabolism is very easy to turn on. I literally don’t get hungry while intermittent fasting.

pixelzombie

That’s very impressive. I do one 16 hour fast and I try for as many 12 hour fasts during the week. My work schedule is often very busy, otherwise I’d try for more 16 hour fasting sessions.